In recent years, much attention has been focused on research using fine channel devices, wherein fine channels with a length of several cm, and a width and depth within a range from the sub-micron level to several hundreds of μm are formed on top of a square glass substrate with a side dimension of several cm, and chemical reactions are then conducted by introducing fluids into these fine channels. Due to the effects of shorter intermolecular distances within the microspaces, and larger specific interfacial area, these fine channels enable highly efficient chemical reactions to be conducted (for example, see H. Hisamoto et al., Fast and high conversion phase-transfer synthesis exploiting the liquid-liquid interface formed in a fine channel chip, Chem. Commun., 2001, pp. 2662 to 2663).
Tests are also being conducted into the industrial utilization of chemical reactions within fine channels, while still retaining the inherent characteristics of these types of microspaces. In such cases, because of the small size of the microspace, the production volume or discharge volume per unit of time from a single fine channel is necessarily small. However, if a plurality of fine channels can be arranged in parallel, then the production volume or discharge volume per unit of time can be increased, while still retaining the characteristics of the fine channels. Accordingly, tests have been conducted in which, for example, a plurality of fine channel substrates each containing a single fine channel are prepared, and these substrates are then laminated together, with common portions such as the reaction solution inlets or reaction product outlets interconnecting via vertical through holes (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-292275).
It is said that conducting large scale chemical reactions in this manner, while retaining the characteristics of the microspaces, is possible by either increasing the degree of integration of fine channels, which represent the minimum unit, in the planar direction, or laminating substrates together three dimensionally. However, conventionally, distributing fluids equally to fine channels arranged in either a planar or three dimensional structure has proven to be extremely difficult.
Furthermore, in the preparation of typical semiconductor devices, tests have been conducted in which, during a film formation process such as CVD (chemical vapor deposition) for forming a thin film of a different material from the base material on top of a base material such as Si, which is the most representative semiconductor substrate material, a gas such as N2O or NH3 is activated using either a plasma or a heated metal catalyst, and then used to dope the semiconductor base material, thereby forming a thin film of SiN or the like (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 10-83988).
However, methods that use a plasma require the generation of very high voltages of several dozen KV or higher, meaning the apparatus tend to be very large. Furthermore, generation of interface defects caused by the injection into the semiconductor substrate material of high-energy charged particles generated within the plasma is unavoidable. Methods that use a heated metal catalyst require heating to very high temperatures. For example, the activation of NH3 requires heating to at least 1600° C. Semiconductor film formation apparatus typically use quartz glass tube or glass boats. However, because the softening point of quartz, which is the temperature at which the quartz begins to expand at a rate of 1 mm per minute, is approximately 1600 to 1700° C., quartz containers cannot be used. Accordingly, special containers made from highly heat resistant ceramic are necessary.
The present invention takes the conventional situation described above into consideration, with an object of providing a fine channel device in which fluids can be distributed equally to a plurality of fine channels disposed in either a planar or three dimensional arrangement. Furthermore, the invention also provides a gas treatment apparatus that uses this fine channel device, and enables the treatment of gases, including activation, decomposition, mixing, and reaction and the like, to be conducted more efficiently than has conventionally been possible. The term “treatment” in gas treatment apparatus refers to treatments such as the activation or decomposition of a fluid, or the mixing or reaction of a plurality of gases.